Tears of Twilight II
by SlayersFan132
Summary: Having been happily married to the love of her life for almost a decade, Midna awoke one morning to find herself trapped in a memory that she dubbed as simply a dream. And yet...something had changed. (Third-person. Past tense. The sequel to Tears of Twilight (duh).)
1. Prologue

**A/N: Can you believe your emails? No? Didn't think so. But yeah. This is totally a thing, and it only took me two hours (primarily consisting of scrolling through social media) to type up this ONE author's note! Update: it took me another day to finish this chapter, but hey, it's here!**

 **Remember that this is now in third-person and that it has been shifted to past tense due to... _reasons_.**

 **Tears of Twilight II, Prologue.**

Midna opened her eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling. It called to her memories, reaching for something that recognized it, but there was nothing. So instead she turned her attention away from the subject and rather wondered why Link wasn't snoring away beside her.

Well, she didn't specifically wonder that...because Link didn't snore.

Whatever the case was, he wasn't in bed, and there weren't any nearby noises to suggest that he was getting up, and he wouldn't have left to go anywhere without her.

"Princess," a seemingly familiar voice called out for her. She heard a door open and sat up slowly, looking around the room. It had a distinct theme that greatly reminded her of the Twilight Realm, back before it had been...erased. Once she saw Dawn, her nursemaid from said Twilight Realm, it occurred to her that this was probably just a dream. She had always been uncannily aware during dreams - she was also a heavy sleeper during them and Link usually had to carry her out of the bedroom, sit her on a chair, and prepare breakfast to wake her up.

"Yes?" she replied, noticing that her voice was hoarse. Was this some strange recall? If she remembered correctly, she had just recovered from some sort of illness when she was sent back to the Light Realm.

Dawn placed a tray of food and a formal dress at her bedside, then bowed lightly to her. "It's time to prepare for your speech. I hope you've planned it out."

"I've planned...enough," Midna stated, rubbing an eye and smoothing down her hair a little. She couldn't remember exactly what the speech was supposed to be about, but she did recall what she had said during it all those years ago - why not stick to the same pattern and see if history would repeat itself, despite being a hectic dream?

"Good," the other Twili replied, shuffling back towards the door. "A medic will greet you outside once you're ready, okay?"

Midna nodded, and Dawn departed, leaving her to eat and change quickly. Once she perfected her outfit and managed to steadily walk out the door, it took her a few minutes to recall which direction to go.

She found it slightly amusing how she could remember the exact words she had spoken, and yet no longer knew her way around her old kingdom. However, it seemed just. After all, she now knew Ordon and Hyrule Castle like the back of her hand.

Once she finally found her way outdoors and mindlessly greeted the medic with a smile, she found herself pondering why this dream was taking place now. How long had it been since then? Eight, ten years? She wasn't quite sure - every moment with her family seemed timeless. It felt like it had been merely a month since she and Link told Zelda of their decision to marry.

She still remembered the moment he had proposed as clearly as she remembered the blue of his eyes. He had insisted on a trip to Lake Hylia, where they splashed around together with Eos near Lanayru's spring for a while before he drew her away, fell to one knee, and offered her everything she had ever wanted, sealed away in a tiny little box with the most gorgeous ring she had ever seen.

Midna was a little confused when she noticed that it wasn't still on her hand. Usually it was there, no matter what kind of dream she encountered.

She shrugged to herself and mindlessly fiddled with her hair, with anything, as she repeated the words she had previously spoken to her people.

She thought she would be able to bear it when they reacted the same way, opened the portal of tears, sacrificed themselves for her. And yet she was touched again, sobbing. She took Dawn's hand and whispered a goodbye before going into the portal. She loved these people more than anything - anything but her family. The memory still hurt.

She expected to wake up in her bed, with her husband and daughter, after that - but she didn't.

She was alone in the back of Link's dark basement, with a shattered mirror in her arms. This time, there was no voice to greet her. There was no Hero to appear at the bottom of the ladder, asking if she really existed. Another part of the dream, she assumed.

Instead of falling unconscious this time, she rose to her feet and tried to avoid the shattered glass as she climbed up the ladder. She winced. Her hands had cut once again, meaning either she should probably ask Link to help her bandage them again.

She reached the top of the ladder and looked around. The house was different than it was as she knew it, which explained why she felt like something was wrong. There was no little girl in the kitchen, hovering at her father's side as he cracked jokes and made breakfast.

Midna looked around the little house and changed her mind. It was something else. It was different than it had been when she arrived all those years ago - and it was different from how she knew it - but that wasn't it. The house was the same as it had been during the war to save Hyrule - empty, desolate. Lacking.

Wiping the residue of tears from her eyes, the former ruler searched for bandages - and found none. Thus, she decided to go to Ordona's spring to heal the cuts. Perhaps she could find Link or Ilia there instead.

* * *

Rusl was there. His sword lay flat against the fine white sand, sharp and sleek, but he looked like a complete mess. His hair was wild and had grayed even more than how Midna remembered it. His entire demeanor wasn't that of a warrior, but of a deadened old man. He muttered quietly, inaudibly, to himself, weakening Midna's resolve. And yet...

The Twilight Princess took a few careful steps in his direction.

"Hello. Um, Rusl?"

His head shot up, his eyes turned to meet hers, his face perked a little - and then just darkened again. Midna had to dub his gaze as the saddest, most depressing thing she had ever seen. "Do I know you?" the swordsman questioned.

"I'm Link's - friend," she said with the slightest of pauses. "My name is Midna. What's wrong? Has something happened?"

A tear flew from the man's eye and he turned to stare back at the spring. For a moment she was concerned he was merely being dramatic, but then his hand rose shakily and pointed in the direction of the little hole Link had used to sneak in on a few occasions. Midna turned to look and saw a tall, narrow headstone, dark grey in color.

Confused, she walked towards it. It took her a few minutes to decipher the Hylian script, not that there was much of it, but she started to read it out loud.

"Rest in peace..." she murmured, "...Link, Hero of Twilight and citizen of Ordon." Her eyes flew wide at the same moment her hands flew to cover her mouth. "No...no, no, what is this?" She whipped around to face the broken swordsman behind her and spat violently, "Is this some kind of joke?! Is this supposed to be funny?" Rusl remained in shocked silence until she screeched, "Answer me!"

"H-he..." The old man shrunk away from her wrath, shutting his eyes. Tears flooded from them, rushing down with gravity. "Ilia found him, Epona tried to tell her. Ilia...she found him dead in his own house, probably of that awful sickness."

The memories came rushing back to Midna as her eyes widened further. Link had had the same illness that she did when she arrived all that time ago. Could it be that, here, now, he had been afflicted before she had?

Midna fell to her knees, pressing her forehead against the ground. This was no dream, she decided at last.

This was a nightmare.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! Congraaaaaatulations! You made it to the first chapter! As for review responses:**

 **To guest "Guest": I'm so sorry to hear about that. I wish your family every bit of luck there is. Thank you for the review. If there is anything triggering to you in this story know that you have no obligation, you don't have to read it. Know that I don't intend it and that I only mean to write a story.**

 **Tears of Twilight II, Chapter One.**

 _A nightmare. It has to be a nightmare._

She had to be sleeping. Link was going to wake her up at any moment and hug her and kiss her and tell her it was all just a bad dream, like how they did with Eos whenever she woke up screaming. He would listen and then trap her eyes with his, and he would tell her he was never going anywhere without her. He would understand.

Midna sat there at the spring, her head bowed before the grave, until the sun had long fallen. She had felt every second pass painstakingly slowly.

Nobody was going to wake her up, because she wasn't asleep. She wasn't dreaming, she wasn't in the middle of a nightmare, she had just been tossed into some terrifying new reality, and she didn't know how she could ever escape.

* * *

The villagers of Ordon thought she was a ghost at first. Her skin was as pale as ever - sunburnt, but pale - and she wore only black clothing. The mourning ghost, they called her. She had said nothing to their comments, not even to the children's remarks. She stayed by the grave, still yet unable to process the meaning behind the letters on it, and still yet unable to imagine a life without the man she loved.

Then, the one family member she had left approached her, laying a hand on her shoulder and depositing a bouquet of flowers beside the grave.

"Midna?" Zelda's voice questioned. "How did you get here?"

"I don't know," the final Twili sobbed, leaning slightly into her sole source of comfort.

The princess of Hyrule moved to sit in front of her, gently lifting her out of her curled position. "What do you mean? Tell me. I'll try to understand."

Midna kept away from her gaze, but scooted closer as she spoke. "Two days ago, I woke up with my family. I ate breakfast with my family. I visited Hyrule Castle with my family. I ate lunch there, then came back for dinner here, with my family."

"Your...family? Who?"

Midna shook her head, raising a shaky hand for silence. "I kissed my daughter on the forehead, then tucked her into bed. I returned to my room. I fell asleep next to my husband. I was happy and content and _loved._ And then..."

Zelda's brow knitted together in confusion. "Daughter...husband...?" She rubbed her temples briefly, then asked, "And then what?"

"I woke up yesterday, almost a decade prior to the life I lived. I came back to Hyrule _again_ and found _this._ " Midna grabbed Zelda's wrist tightly, hissing, "What kind of sick joke is this? Do you know? Are you part of the Goddesses' wicked plot to ruin the life I owned and loved?!"

"Midna, no. I'm not. I'm just here as a friend. After all...you're all I have left." The princess tilted her gaze towards the gravestone before them. "Now tell me, who are the people in your family? What significance did yesterday hold?"

The redhead shut her eyes, letting out a soft, shaky breath. "My family. Eos, my daughter. Adopted, of course. I found her abandoned on the streets of Castle Town. I took her in, and I raised her for ten years." She lowered her head. "I love her so much, and here she isn't even mine."

"Who is your husband?"

"Link." Zelda gave a minor jolt. "He proposed, and I said yes. We were a simple little family here in Ordon. We had finally settled down." Midna squeezed Zelda's wrist again. "It's been ten _years,_ Zelda." She sobbed so harshly that her chest hurt. "I can't live without them for ten more."

The bearer of Wisdom placed both hands over Midna's. "I understand." She paused. "I understand, Midna. But...I don't know how to help."

Orange eyes dulled with pain, Midna rested her forehead on their clasped hands. "I know, Zelda. You can't do anything to mend a broken heart." Her tears drizzled from her nose and chin. "If I have to, I'll just wait here another ten years. I'll sit here until the stone isn't there and never was. I'll sit here until they ask what I'm doing and where I've been. I'll sit here until I starve to death, if need be." She raised her head slowly, shutting her eyes, a fraction of her former pride returning with her suddenly better posture. "I would die before I had to live a life without Link. Without Eos."

Princess Zelda's eyes welled with tears for a moment. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm sure it's my fault, somehow. Like everything always has been."

The blonde pulled Midna into the tightest of hugs for a moment, then released her slowly. "I want to help. So here's what I'm going to contribute." She counted off on her fingers, one by one. "I'm not going to let you starve. I'm going to visit as frequently as possible and speak to you, or just give you company. I'm going to hug you when you need hugged. I'm going to listen to you ramble if you need me to. I'm going to bring you blankets and hot chocolate when it gets cold." Raising her other pointer finger with a sixth contribution, she finished, "If you do choose to move from this spot, I will try to give you anything and everything you need, no matter what it is."

"Why?" Midna asked.

Princess Zelda smiled softly at her. "Because when he died, I died too. Color faded from the world. For a time, I couldn't remember what happiness felt like." Wiping a drizzling tear from her cheek, she turned her head away. "I-I can't imagine how you must feel."

It wasn't long before Midna returned to her silent vigil, and Zelda fled into the village.

"How was yesterday significant...?" the Twili murmured to herself as sleep overtook her in this land of nightmares.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so bad at updating that I forgot I already posted chapter one and continued to add on to it. I was about to publish it when I saw that I already had, so I had to go back and - ARGHHHH. I have to mention something that I neglected to add into chapter one and it's all just painful.**

 **Nevertheless, I apologize for the long wait. Here's chapter two.**

 **Tears of Twilight II, Chapter Two.**

The Mourning Ghost, they called her. It wasn't long before a new legend started to spread, telling of how she was meant to carry all of the grief of the people of Hyrule once they had mourned the loss of their Hero. How she had come to ease their concerns.

It was even shorter of a time before they started to believe it, and thus their grief was vanquished - but Midna knew it was merely psychosomatic.

* * *

 _"Mommy!"_

 _Eos wandered through the petite house barefoot, her feet making soft thumping noises as she searched._

 _"Come on, Mommy, you won. I already found Daddy." She climbed down the ladder into the basement, her soft cotton dress brushing the backs of her ankles. She hopped down from the last rung and pulled the chain to turn on the lantern, frowning at her surroundings and letting out a frustrated groan. "Mommyyy!" she whined, sitting down criss-cross-applesauce on the well-swept wooden floor. "That's no fair!"_

 _"What's no fair?" Midna questioned, her disembodied voice echoing along the walls of the basement._

 _Eos made a 'hmph' noise. "You can't use your magic during Hide 'N' Seek!"_

 _"When did that become a rule?"_

 _"I made it."_

 _"Aw, that's no fair. You have to tell me_ before _the game starts."_

 _"But Daddy knows he's not allowed to use his tools!"_

 _There was a soft chuckle from up the ladder, and Link gripped the sides tightly, sliding down without using the rungs. "Come on, Midna. You know she's right. Come on out of there."_

 _The Twili popped out from her daughter's shadow, crossing her arms and tilting her chin up defiantly. Link gave her a hug and a kiss on the nose. Eos scrunched hers up._ _"Daddy! You knew where she was, didn't you?"_

 _He grinned like the dork he was. "Of course I did, but I'm not allowed to cheat. I hoped you would find her."_

 _She huffed and imitated her mother's position. Link released Midna and crept over to Eos, hefting her up suddenly and spinning her around. She let out a sharp yelp, then started to giggle when he tickled her. "D-daddy, stop it!"_

 _Nevertheless, she continued to giggle as Midna cried, "Oh, no! The princess has been captured! I must go on a lengthy quest to discover the Master Sword's location, then travel to another realm to destroy a commander, then return to Hyrule! But before I rescue her, I must visit the fishing hole and stay there for a few days. Perhaps I shall fish up something valuable to my quest, like a boot."_

 _Link scowled at her. "I found a bottle! Bottles are valuable."_

 _"Not_ that _valuable."_

 _"There are only four in all of Hyrule, and you can't buy them anywhere."_

 _"That's because they're so busy replacing pots that they can't_ make _bottles."_

 _He pouted. "Okay, that's true." He set Eos down and she ceased her giggles, but still grinned widely at them. Her grin vanished suddenly when there was a loud grumble._

 _"Someone is hungry," Midna announced, crouching down to pinch Eos' cheek and then taking her hand._

 _Link laughed and started towards the ladder, gesturing for them to lead the way. "I lit the stove. The water should be boiling by now if you wanna put something in there. I have to go round up the goats, and then I'll be right back." He met them at the top of the ladder and gave Midna a quick peck, then kissed Eos' forehead._

 _He was back in record time, and they ate dinner, sharing a minimal amount of conversation and merely enjoying each other's company. Then, Eos spoke._

 _"Hey, Mommy, Daddy, when are we gonna visit Aunty Zelda again?"_

 _Midna swallowed her food, nearly choking on it with a soft laugh. "Honey, we just saw her today."_

 _The little girl shrugged. "I know, but something feels off. I think we have to see her tomorrow. Before noon. I don't know why though."_

 _Midna exchanged a glance with her husband, who nodded in resignation._

 _"Okay, then, Eos. We'll have to leave early to make it before afternoon, so go to bed once you're done, got it?"_

 _"Yes, Daddy!" she beamed, hopping up and carrying her plate to the sink before skipping over to the little section they had built in the house specifically for her, shutting her drapes and turning off her little light as she went to bed._

 _Midna let out a gentle sigh, rising to her own feet and taking Link's dishes to the sink. He greeted her halfway to the ladder up - towards the platforms that they had expanded to make room for two - and laid down beside her, meeting her amber eyes with his own flooded with concern. It had been ten years, but he still looked just as young as he did in the war._

 _"Tomorrow is year ten," he reminded her quietly. "It's been ten years since those creatures attacked. Didn't you say they were after Zelda and I?"_

 _"The fact that Eos senses something is worrying," Midna mumbled, burying her head in his chest. "Remember last time that happened? She told you not to go to that village a couple years ago, she made you promise. Remember?"_

 _The Hero nodded, sighing. "Yes. She convinced me not to go, and I got a letter saying that somebody had bombed the village. And you - you were going to visit Kakariko, but Eos told you not to walk there, that you should warp instead, and - "_

 _" - and seventy people died in Kakariko Gorge that day. I know."_

 _"We'll have to get up earlier than usual if we're going to make it before noon. Something is up. I hope Zelda will be alright."_

 _The Twili nodded, shutting her eyes. "Wake me up the moment you're up, okay?"_

 _"Okay."_

* * *

Midna opened her eyes slowly, sitting up and being greeted again with the sight of her husband's grave. She still wasn't sure she believed it.

Once the memory returned to her, she jolted to her feet, and heard the soft shrieks of three children. She turned to look and saw Talo, Malo, and Beth. They had clearly been devastated after Link's death. It looked like none had bothered to wash or brush their hair or sleep ever since, and Beth was terrifyingly skinny. Malo was hunched over, making him seem even shorter. Talo's courage had been replaced with fear.

The Twilight Princess took a few cautious steps towards them, lowered to her knees, and dipped her head - playing her part as the Mourning Ghost.

"Greetings," she said in a whisper, her foreign accent prominent. "I feel your grief by tenfold, and I accept it as my own. May you prosper, despite the horror that has befallen you."

Beth slowly reached up to place a hand on her cheek. "You're warm," the girl stated. "And you feel real. Are you not a ghost?"

She paused to think about her answer. Slowly, she answered, "I have been given life. Life, enough, to be able to comfort the princess in her time of need." She shuffled a little. "I must be going. She requires relief from her pain."

"M-miss?" Talo whispered. Midna looked to meet his eyes, and he turned away briefly. "Are you really here to help us accept L-Link's death?"

The redhead's eyes softened ever further. "Yes."

"Was there any way to come back before? T-to save him?"

"In another life...perhaps." She bit her lip to restrain her tears.

"Why didn't you come earlier?"

She tilted her head slightly to the side. "What do you mean?"

"He was grieving, too. Even before he got sick he didn't leave his house. He hardly ate anything, even when Uli went in and practically tried to spoon-feed him. She said he kept blubbering about someone named - Midna, and how he missed her." Talo evidently caught the flash of recognition in her eyes. "So you know who Midna is?"

She rose to her feet, towering above them and offering a pathetic excuse for a smile. "Yes."

"Who is she?" Malo asked almost silently.

The redhead walked over to stand in the gateway, her head lowered, before she decided to tell them. She turned back, met each of their gazes, and her lips parted briefly, then shut before she swallowed and murmured, "I _was_ Midna. Now...I'm not sure."

Avoiding their reactions, she tilted her head up to the sky and warped just outside Castle Town.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm sorry that it's been almost a year since I've updated. I am the ultimate jerk. I apologize. But! My writing skills have gotten better!** **Also, I assure you that this isn't the last chapter, even if it may seem like it.**

 **Tears of Twilight II, Chapter Three.**

* * *

Midna warped quickly to the eastern side of Hyrule Castle, where a portal remained open, and made her way northwest towards the castle itself.

Greeting Zelda came simple enough, since the guards had instructions to let her in immediately no matter what, and before she knew it Midna was sitting in a small section of a library with the ruler of Hyrule, holding a mug of hot chocolate with tiny chunks of peppermint bark swirling in it.

"Midna!" Needless to say, Zelda was thrilled to see her. "You're up, so soon. And you're here, of all things. I can't believe it. What happened? What changed your mind about things?"

"Well..." The Twili paused. "You inspired me enough to wonder. So I asked myself...'what was yesterday's significance'?"

The brunette scowled. "What _was_ yesterday's significance?"

"Yesterday, um, ten years from now - Link, Eos, and I were going to take an early morning trip here, to you, to make it before noon."

"From Ordon? Before noon? That seems...absurd."

Midna nodded. "We would have thought it absurd, too, but when Eos senses danger, she's always right. For example, eight years from now, a small village somewhere in Hyrule was bombed. Link was going to be in that village at the time of its bombing, but Eos had a bad feeling and made him swear not to go."

Zelda looked shocked. "She...can see the future?"

"No." The redhead's response was short and clipped. She took a sip of her hot chocolate. "She gets this odd feeling that something bad is about to happen. She's never really explained it to me, but..." Midna paused. "Being a mother, you just...know. It's like...a sixth sense." She clasped her mug with both hands to warm them in the chilly library and criss-crossed her legs on the comfortable mat that Zelda had supplied. "Eos doesn't see the future, she feels the future. It's different."

"Do you think..." The princess paused. "Is it possible that Eos could have been the fortune teller's child?"

But Midna froze, the mug nearly slipping from her fingers as something else entirely occurred to her. "What time is it?" she demanded, tightening her grip on the glass and taking another tentative sip out of it.

Zelda looked towards the nearest patch of sunlight to determine the time. "It's nearing sunset," she replied. "Why do you ask?"

"If everything will be the same, save for Link's...you know...then the castle is likely already under attack."

"What?!" Zelda's exclamation came just as a guard appeared in the doorway, panting, gasping, and bleeding.

"Princess! We're under attack!"

The two rulers set their mugs aside and instantly rose to their feet, racing out of the library and preparing for battle.

"Zelda...?" Midna whispered as they ran down the hallways, the princess leading the way towards her blade. "I...I found Eos abandoned on the streets on this very day, so could I...?"

"Yes, by all means!" Zelda gasped. "Go! Find her, quickly, before someone else does. I can't let you lose your daughter for my sake."

"Thank you, Zelda." The Twili was gone in another instant, warping back to the eastern portal and running in, just as she did before and, this time, keeping an eye on the ground. She noticed someone place a small bundle upon the cobblestone and depart in the chaos of the fire, and the moment they were out of sight she stopped before the wailing child, picked her up, and held her close, soothing her with a caring, gentle touch that came from being a mother for a decade.

She asked the blonde flutist to keep an eye on the child once again, pleading with her to keep the child safe while she assisted the princess, and then she was off.

The scene didn't play out quite the same way as it had once before, since Zelda knew of her arrival, but it went better and Midna didn't end up injured in this brawl.

Immediately, she retrieved Eos from the flutist and then returned to the princess.

"Is this Eos?" Zelda asked gently, admiring the child with a soft look on her face. When Midna nodded, she continued. "Listen, Midna - I know it's been ten years, but while we're waiting for you to find a way to return to your own timeline, why don't you stay here in the castle for a while? I can grant you a small, cozy room if you'd like, near the library. I'm sure you'd prefer a smaller one, after all, having lived with...with Link."

Midna sniffled and gave a nod, holding her daughter close. "That would be fine, Zelda. Thank you."

"It's nothing. You're my best friend."

* * *

"Shh, shh." Midna groggily sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes and gazing blearily towards her wailing child. It felt like she had only just gone to bed, and the Twili grumbled for the millionth time, "I forgot about the earlier months of motherhood. What is it? What's wrong, sweetie?"

She rose to her feet, adjusting her thin black robes as she crossed towards Eos' crib. She leaned over and started to pick the baby up, but drew away when a sharp pain stabbed at her skull, throbbing throughout her body.

"Zelda!?" she cried, dropping to her knees and clutching at her head. Eos' cries suddenly silenced as the princess dashed into the room, flashing a worried sapphire gaze around before crouching beside the Twili.

"Midna - what's happening? Are you okay?"

She, too, was exhausted, but Midna didn't care to notice. The redhead reached for her friend, whispering her name, but before her hand grazed the fabric of Zelda's nightdress, the world disappeared.

Midna found herself in a different bed, jolting up with a gasp and now clutching at her chest, instead. She noticed immediately the comfortable presence of a ring wrapped around her finger, and tears welled in her eyes. She frantically looked around.

Link was laying beside her, still and asleep, but not for long - he, too, jolted awake, and his eyes locked onto hers.

"Link," she whispered, reaching for him. "You - you're..." She never finished her sentence, but he had opened his arms to embrace her on the second word, gently tugging her down to lay back beside him.

"A nightmare," he breathed softly. "Except it..."

"...felt so real," Midna finished. "I don't think it was a nightmare. What was yours?"

Link's soothing touch graced her shoulders, her hands, and she bawled. Two months - she had gone two months thinking he was dead, and suddenly, he was here, safe in their bed. She realized he was taking in everything just as she was - he held her tightly, afraid of letting go, and breathed the air around them, burying his face in her hair.

After a moment, he murmured, "It was...ten years ago. I had just returned home, and I heard something in the basement. It was you, except...it wasn't. You were different, and I didn't know how until I returned from that trip I made for Rusl - remember?"

"Yes, I remember."

"When I got back, I found that you - " He cut off, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You died a few hours before I got back, in your sleep. I don't know how, I...I think it was that illness that both of us had after the war." Link let out a soft sigh, and Midna felt the pillow under her head grow wet with his tears. She leaned up and gave him a kiss, encouraging him to continue. Everything around her felt so surreal.

"I went to Zelda, but the trip was slow because I was ill, as well. In my haste and grief, I forgot what the cure was, so I just left without it. When I arrived, the castle had been lit on fire and she was under attack, but...before I made it in, I found a child abandoned on the streets." Midna let out a soft gasp, and felt him nod in the darkness. "I knew it was her. I picked her up and asked a blonde woman in the central square to watch over her while I helped Zelda, but I..."

Midna reached for his face, cupping his cheek in her hand. "What? What happened?"

"In the throne room, while I was fighting back some of the monsters, they - one of them got to her. Zelda died, too." Link's breath shuddered upon intake. "I don't know how I managed to kill the rest of them. I could hardly hear or see anything." He sighed, letting out his breath. "I died the day after the battle, I think. I don't remember most of it. The entire experience was...terrible."

Midna let out a soft sob. "Link, I..." He pressed his lips to her forehead, and somehow she managed to keep speaking, relaying her entire experience over the two months that she had lived without him.

"Eos said something yesterday," she recounted at last. "The real yesterday. What was it? I can't remember; it's been so long."

"It was..." Link paused. "Zelda. We have to visit her before noon, she said."

"What time is it?"

He groaned. "Probably some ungodly hour of the morning. Don't tell me we're leaving now."

"We're leaving now. I don't want to be transported to another terrifying reality, not without you there, at least. This you, not any others." Midna wriggled out from under the covers, and Link eventually did the same, grumbling but obeying.

Before they left, with Eos stumbling along sleepily as she clung to her mother's fingers, Midna pulled Link into a tight hug, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I missed you."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."


End file.
